ACU Announces 2012 Ratings of Congress

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The American Conservative Union (ACU) Chairman Al Cardenas today announced the 2012 ACU Ratings of Congress, the 42nd edition of the conservative ratings guide. Since 1971, the nation’s oldest and largest grassroots conservative organization has annually graded Members of Congress based on their votes on key conservative issues. The full 2012 ACU Ratings of Congress guide is now available online at conservative.org.

“For the past 42 years, through the Congressional and now the State Ratings, the American Conservative Union has set the standard for and played a major role in giving the American people the tools they need to make informed voting decisions at every level of government,” said ACU Chairman Al Cardenas. “On behalf of our entire Board of Directors, I applaud and thank the many Senators and Representatives who achieved perfect or high scores on our 2012 ACU Ratings of Congress. Their unwavering commitment to our shared conservative principles stands in stark contrast to the liberals in Washington who continue to want an expanded role for government at taxpayers’ expense.”

Throughout the history of the conservative ratings program, ACU has become the go-to source for determining whether an elected official’s philosophical rhetoric matches his or her record. The guides provide a comprehensive analysis of the legislative landscape over the preceding year. This differentiates ACU from other useful guides which may emphasize single areas, like taxes, defense, or social policy. The ACU tracks a wide range of issues before Congress to determine which issues and votes serve as a clear litmus test separating those representatives who defend liberty and liberal members who have turned their backs on our founding principles – constitutionally limited government, individual liberty, free markets, a strong national defense and traditional American values.

The 2012 ACU Ratings of Congress includes scores for each individual member in both the Senate and the House of Representatives, a description of the votes scored in each Chamber and lists of members receiving special recognition as “Defenders of Liberty,” – those scoring a perfect 100 percent – or “ACU Conservatives” – those scoring 80 percent or higher.

ACU today announced the winners of the “Defender of Liberty” award, given to those members of the Congressional Legislature who were present and cast a vote for each adjudicated roll call and scored 100 percent on the 2012 ACU Ratings of Congress. In the Senate, these members included: Ron Johnson, John Kyl, Mike Lee, Mitch McConnell, Rand Paul, Marco Rubio, and Pat Toomey.

The ACU recently announced its 2012 Ratings of Congress, the 42nd edition of the conservative ratings guide. For more information on the ACU PAC or to download the full 2012 Ratings of Congress, please visit conservative.org.

Founded in 1964, the American Conservative Union (ACU) is the original conservative organization in the nation. For more than fifty years, ACU has served as an umbrella organization harnessing the collective strength of conservative organizations fighting for Americans who are concerned with liberty, personal responsibility, traditional values, and strong national defense. As America's premier conservative voice, ACU is the leading entity in providing conservative positions on issues to Congress, the Executive Branch, State Legislatures, the media, political candidates, and the public.
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